


Hurt

by Fire_Cat



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Gen, Physical Abuse, Week of Terrible Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-28 04:10:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6314695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Cat/pseuds/Fire_Cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When William Strife first arrived on Minecraftia he was... Sceptical, to say the very least. He didn't want to be there. He wanted to go home. This strange planet was weird and didn't make sense. </p><p>But then he met Xephos. And his fellow Lumian convinced him that the planet wasn't all that bad. Strife put his trust in him, despite barely knowing him. He trusted that Xephos wouldn't put him in danger, and that he'd help him whilst he adjusted to life on this bizarre new world. </p><p>He didn't expect one of Xephos' choices to cause his first few months on Minecraftia, to very nearly be his last..</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hungover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sparxwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparxwrites/gifts).



> My thing for sparxflame‘s Week of Terrible Fiction. I pretty much ended up using it as an excuse to write about the darker parts of my headcannons, so yeah, that’s basically what’s happening here, hopefully I’ll have the whole thing finished by the end of the week, it’s about half-finished now, but I’ve been so damn busy it’s taken forever to find the time to actually write it >

“Morning, William.” A loud, annoyingly cheerful voice entered the room. Not quite understandable to the half-asleep alien that the words were directed at. “Well, afternoon, I should say, really. You can’t stay in bed all day. Come on. Wake up.” Came the voice again, bright sunlight suddenly streaming in through the windows as the curtains were pulled open, he pulled his duvet up over his eyes in an attempt to block out the intruding daylight.

A quiet, muffled groan was all the alien made in response. A pounding in his head that was beginning to become more and more familiar, telling him not to bother getting up. Since he’d probably just fall back down again anyway.

“Get up, Strife.” The voice was suddenly much sharper, grabbing a hold of the bed covers and practically throwing them off of the blonde-haired alien buried beneath them. He felt like a child again, parents or sisters yelling at him to get out of bed and get to school, or get to work. Not something he wanted to think about.

The sudden lack of warmth made him flinch, curling up slightly as green eyes opened a little, squinting against the harsh sunlight. The figure of the man who was supposed to be looking after him and helping him came into focus, tall and blonde with electric blue eyes. Watching closely, but not glittering with lightning as they sometimes were.

“Get up and get dressed. Maybe have a shower too. You’re not a child, you can’t stay in bed all day.” The man said, before turning on his heel and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Strife sat up slowly once he was alone, clutching his head as he did so. What had he drunk last night? It was strong. That’s for sure.. He didn’t quite remember going to bed. Or anything else, for that matter.

The bitter winter air had seeped into the room, as it always did. Biting at his bare skin and making him shiver. The rest of the house was warm. It was only ever his room that seemed to get cold. Especially at night.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there for a moment. Staring at the half-empty liquor bottle on the floor. It hadn’t been noticed by anyone else, thankfully. He knew he’d get in trouble if someone found out about what he was doing, even if it was only to try to make things easier. To numb the pain a little.

He also looked at the pile of duvet that had been thrown to the floor, it was very tempting to wrap himself up in it and go back to sleep. But he couldn’t. He’d only get in trouble if he did.

Even without translators he had a rough idea on what had been said. He could see the purple-lensed sunglasses that housed his translator tech sitting on the bedside table. Within reach, if he dared to lean over and pick them up, which he didn't, not whilst his head felt full of cotton wool, and he was fighting an unpleasant wave of nausea that had hit him upon sitting upright.

He blinked. Looking up and across the room to the bathroom door. Maybe a bath would help him feel a bit better. If nothing else, it’d lower the risk of any alcohol being smelt on him.

He slowly got to his feet, the wooden floor cold to the touch, swaying slightly as he walked, carefully, one foot after the other, one hand on the wall for support. The hangovers were the worst part of his life right now, but they were becoming routine, and he was getting used to them. The only alternative that he’d found to alcohol was redstone, which seemed to have more uses than one substance probably should have. Taking it had left him buzzing and suddenly very aware of his surroundings. Which was good for a while, and certainly dulled the pain. But it lost its spark after an hour or two, and he’d run out anyway. Hence the liquor. He needed something stronger though. What he had wasn’t enough. Everything still hurt.

Strife sat on the tiled floor as he waited for the bath to fill, one hand dipped into the warm water, inhaling the steam coming from the wonderful heated liquid. Clearing his head and waking him up a bit.

He washed, cleaned his hair, brushed his teeth to get the stale taste of rum or whisky or whatever it was out of his mouth. He paused, looking in the mirror, towel around his waist, chest and arms bare. Markings that usually lit up an emerald-green had faded to a much paler shade, the coloured freckles that littered his body had vanished completely. His eyes were darkening, dull, not as bright as they should be. Old scars met new ones across his body. Greeny-Purple bruises forming along his ribs. He couldn't remember how that had happened. Jagged lighting scars forming beneath his collar-bone from where he’d been shocked earlier in the week. He couldn't remember what he’d done to receive such a punishment. Everything was a fuzzy blur now.

He sighed. Why was this happening? Why had he been left with this strange man.. Xephos had said that he would help him. But that wasn’t what was happening. He had learnt stuff, his language skills were slowly improving. But he didn't feel safe here. He wanted to leave. He wanted to be with Xephos again. The other Lumian had been much more help than who he was currently with had been.

“ _I don’t want to be here anymore._ ” Strife muttered to himself in his native tongue. The words sounding sharp to anyone who may be listening. “ _I want to be with Xephos.. Not here.._ ” He swallowed hard as a flicker of blue flashed in his eyes, fighting back the urge to break down into tears as he heard a knock on the bathroom door. Waking him from his thoughts.

“William?” Came that voice again. Loud but soft, slightly muffled by the door. Strife stayed silent for a moment, trying to translate what he was going to say in his head.

“ _Just getting dressed, Kirin._ ” He said quietly, giving up on the translation and speaking in the language that was more familiar to him. He knew he’d be understood. So it didn’t matter.

There was no response. Just silence, before quiet footsteps walked away. Strife let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. Before looking at the pile of folded clothes Strife had left on the counter. Black jeans, torn at the knees, too big around his waist, a red shirt, sleeves a few centimetres too short. Nothing fit him. But he didn’t really care too much anymore. It was better than nothing.

Strife quickly got dressed, and briefly tried to do something with his hair. It was getting too long, to the point where it was almost unmanageable, sticking up at the back and falling over his eyes, but he wasn’t sure how he’d go about getting it cut. Kirin wouldn’t trust him with scissors. He wasn’t sure why. But he knew there was a reason for it.

Strife had ended up with the peculiar and powerful man that was KirinDave about three weeks ago. He’d been staying with Xephos -who was, somewhat conveniently, the first person he’d spoken to upon arriving on Minecraftia- prior to the change. But the sapphire-eyed alien had to leave the area for a while, and couldn’t really take Strife with him. Kirin had offered to keep an eye on him while Xephos was gone. And Xephos had agreed to it. Xephos trusted Kirin. And Strife trusted Xephos.. But now he was starting to think that maybe that trust had been misplaced.

He’d only met the demigod briefly before he’d ended up living with him, he’d been followed by him for a while not long after finding himself on this strange planet, but had run in the opposite direction when Kirin had tried to approach him. Kirin had seemed nice at first when Xephos introduced Strife to him, but that niceness faded after a week, and the green-eyed alien couldn’t fathom why.. Kirin had come home a bit worse for wear one afternoon, and everything between them changed. Strife wished that he could just run away from him like he’d done before. Run away and leave all this pain and difficulty behind.. Before it tore him apart..

…Well, before it tore him apart any more than it already had…

Strife left his room, making sure to pick up his sunglasses as he went, he knew that Kirin preferred he spoke to him in Minecraftian, rather than Lumian, so the translation tech inside the frames was a necessity at the moment.

Kirin was sat at the kitchen table, all antlers and eyes and too sharp teeth, he no longer bothered to hide these features around his guest, though Strife really wished he would.

Kirin was leaning back in his chair, one bandaged hand holding a book, a mug of something in the other. He looked up at Strife as the alien walked into the room.

“Afternoon.” Kirin said simply, his voice a bit too loud, making the pounding in Strife’s head worse. “Any particular reason why you slept in so late?” Strife shrugged. Not really sure on how to respond to that without giving anything away. Kirin set his mug down on the table, blue-eyed gaze returning to the book in his hand. “Well, whatever the reason, you look awful. Could do with cutting your hair, it’s far too long. You need a shave as well.” Strife scratched at his stubble lined jaw, he couldn’t argue with that.

“I would shave if you gave me something to do it with. Same goes for cutting my hair.” Strife finally spoke, his voice rough. Moving a few stray strands of blonde hair away from his eyes as he sat down opposite Kirin. Shoulders tense, hands clasped on the table in front of him. Watching Kirin cautiously.

“Hungry?” Kirin asked as he placed his book face down on the table, looking back at Strife as he stood up.

“Not particularly.” Strife replied, not quite truthfully. He was hungry, his stomach grumbling to itself every now and again. But he didn’t want to eat anything, worried that it would just result in him throwing it back up again. Which he wasn’t keen on. He could wait. He’d gone longer than twenty-four hours without food before. It wasn’t too big of an issue.

Then again, he hadn’t been eating much recently, and it was starting to show. He was already thin, it was quite normal for Lumian’s to have a very slight build, Xephos did too. But even so, his cheek bones were becoming more prominent, his ribs starting to show beneath his pale skin. It had only been three weeks. But it felt like so much longer.

“No? Hmm. Ok then.” Kirin paused as he picked an apple out of the fruit bowl on the counter. “You didn’t eat much yesterday either. Are you feeling ok?”

“Just.. Haven’t had much of an appetite recently..” This too was only partially true.

“Right..” Kirin said slowly before taking a bite out of the apple in his hand. As he went back to his seat, he stopped beside Strife, looking down at the alien who was refusing to meet his gaze. “Are you sure you’re ok?” He said, tilting his head slightly as he looked the blonde over again.

“I’m fine.” Strife replied, a little too quickly, which just strengthened the concern on Kirin’s face. Well, it was something close to concern anyway.

“William, you know that if something’s bothering me you can just tell me, right.” His voice was soft, he sounded worried, but Strife wasn’t sure if this was genuine or not.

 _Liar!_ Strife thought, the word so loud in his head that for a moment he thought he’d said it aloud. “Are you sure that’s true?” He asked, his voice quiet. “Or will you just hit me if I say the wrong thing.” He continued, his voice remarkably calm. Knowing full well that he was pushing his luck. But he didn’t really care anymore.

“Why would I hit you?” Kirin asked, almost sounding oblivious to the accusations.

“Why indeed.” Strife replied simply as he turned his head slightly, looking up at Kirin through the corner of his eye. “And yet, you have.. You do.. You hit me, beat me, shock me, and I can’t say I really appreciate it.” His voice was firm, though still hoarse, and he knew that it wouldn’t take much to make his voice start to shake. He was barely holding off the tremors he could feel forming in his fingers, but at least he could hide that..

Kirin’s expression shifted into something much sharper. But he didn’t speak. Merely stared.

 _Why is he acting so oblivious?_ Strife thought. He knew he wasn’t telling lies, his memory was hazy at best at the moment but he knew what had been done to him, so why was Kirin denying it?

Kirin leant closer to Strife, three electric blue eyes watching him closely, Strife just about managed to avoid looking at him. But only just. He could feel Kirin’s warm breath on his neck, it was unnerving, he didn’t like people being so close to him.

“Have you been drinking?” Kirin said quietly, his blonde head tilting slightly as he leant against the table. Strife felt his heart skip a beat, all the tension in his body doubled, the pounding in his head got worse. Surely Kirin couldn’t smell anything on him.. Surely..

“W-why would I have been drinking? Drinking what?” Strife asked, hating how he stuttered and stumbled on his words. He didn’t dare meet Kirin’s gaze.

“Don’t act like an idiot, William, it doesn’t suit you. You know what I mean.” Kirin said sharply as he stood up straight, seeming much more threatening when stood at his full height, he was taller than most people, usually by quite a margin, so it didn’t take much for him to seem more dangerous than he was.. Well, than he was to most people.

“Where would I even get alcohol from? Why are you even asking?” Strife could hear his voice start to shake, and he didn’t like it all.

“I can smell it on you.” Kirin said simply, his voice firm, he looked less than pleased. Strife wasn’t sure how there was still the scent of alcohol on him, yet alone how Kirin could smell it, but regardless, he’d been found out. And this wasn’t going to end well. That much he knew.

Strife couldn’t think of what to say. So he stayed quiet. Waiting for Kirin to say something, to do something..

“Well?” Kirin said sharply, he too was waiting for a response. “Have you been drinking?” He continued to wait for a response. But he wasn’t getting one, simply because Strife didn’t know how to respond.

As usual, the worst happened very quickly, leaving little more than a blur of motion and pain in Strife’s memory.

Kirin grabbed ahold of the collar of Strife’s shirt, pulling him onto his feet. The alien instinctively took hold of his attackers wrist, not quite sure what that would do but hoping it might do something.

“I’ll ask you one more time.” Kirin almost whispered, slowly, his tone still angry, but his voice eerily quiet. Holding Strife close to him, his large, grey-stained hands and muscular arms creating quite a contrast against the very pale and thin Strife. “Have you been drinking?”

Strife swallowed hard, he tried to speak, but no words left his mouth. Kirin’s eyes narrowed, electricity sparking behind them, almost like a warning, telling Strife to hurry up or face the consequences.

A minute passed and neither of them spoke. A quiet growl escaped Kirin’s throat before he pushed Strife backwards, letting go of him and letting him fall back, landing heavily back on the chair, just managing to catch himself before the momentum pushed him over the side and onto the floor.

Kirin was already half way across the room before Strife had even landed, head spinning, vision blurring slightly. Kirin didn’t pay any attention though, he was heading for the door and Strife knew exactly where he’d be going.

Doing his best to ignore how the world had started to spin, how the nausea in the pit of his stomach was increasing steadily with every pounding thump of his heart in his chest, and how uneven his breathing had become. Strife spun around, just managing to stand up despite how badly he was shaking. Stumbling forward a few paces and leaning against the kitchen counter, he faced Kirin, trying to think of something to say.

“Stop.” He just managed to say, not loudly, but Kirin still heard. The demigod stopped and turned, within a split second, one hand raised and aimed at Strife, electricity crackling around his fingers before leaping across the room and striking the alien in the chest.

Strife cried out as the electricity hit him. His legs gave way beneath him and he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around his chest as the buzzing, sparking feeling in his skin slowly dispersed. He watched Kirin leave the room, closing the door behind him with a thud.

Strife sat where he was for a minute or two, struggling to get any air into his lungs, his heart beating so fast it made him feel like he was going to be sick. The pounding in his head only made the nausea worse. The buzzing in his chest had stopped but the area still hurt from where the bolt had struck him. Red-hot and incredibly painful. He just wanted all this pain to stop. To go away.

He let himself fall, curling up on his side on the wooden floor. Hoping that maybe he’d be lucky and wake up to find that all of this had just been a nightmare…

If only it was that simple…


	2. Ideas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so tame compared to the first, barely even worthy of wotf, but then, this chapter wasn’t originally planned, but yet it happened anyway. It gets rough again next chapter don’t worry >

Strife wasn’t sure what happened next. But when he woke up again he was back in his bed. Well, he assumed that’s where he was, he was hesitant to open his eyes and look around. His chest still hurt, prickling heat across his skin, his stomach ached, though he wasn’t sure what from, his headache had mostly faded, but not completely. There was a nasty, foul taste in his mouth and down the back of his throat, he knew exactly what that was, and it wasn’t a very pleasant thing at all. The pain in his chest was affecting his breathing, slow and shaky, finding it difficult to get air into his lungs.

There was something, someone, sat at the end of his bed, he could feel their gaze on him, feel their weight near his feet. It wasn’t Kirin, they weren’t heavy enough to be Kirin. So, who was it? Was it Xephos, had he come back?

“Don’t pretend to be asleep, Mr Strife. I know that you’re awake.” Came a voice, an unfamiliar voice, high-pitched, sharp, almost seeming to echo slightly around the room. It wasn’t Xephos. It sounded nothing like Xephos…

Strife felt his breath catch in his throat as he swallowed hard, a strange mix of fear and curiosity washing over him. He opened his eyes slightly, just enough to see who was sat with him. The room was dark, and his vision was slightly obscured for a moment by the dull green glow his eyes were emitting, but he could just about make out a small figure sat at the end of the bed, blonde hair, sharp blue eyes watching him through the darkness, letting off a small amount of light, but not enough to light up the rest of their face.

“There we go. That’s better.” They said, their voice suddenly much smoother than before. He could barely understand what was being said, his translators were gone, he was picking out words and hoping he was translating right. “How are you feeling then, hm?” They asked, there was no concern or worry in their tone, they didn’t sound as if they cared, but their voice was soft.. Eerily so.. Strife didn’t like it at all, and it didn’t help that he could barely see their face.

Strife swallowed again, the foul taste in his mouth burning against his throat, he wanted to speak, but found himself unable to, so he simply nodded, this wasn’t true, he felt like absolute shit, but he wasn’t about to say that in front of someone he didn’t know.

_Who are you?_ He mouthed, hoping it’d be understood, though not quite sure if he’d gotten the words right.

“I suppose we haven’t really met yet have we.” They said, seeming to understand, the softness in their voice had vanished, being replaced by the same sharp tone as before. They pulled their legs up onto the bed and crawled up near the top.

Strife just managed to push himself upright, though not without a significant jolt of pain across his chest and ribs that left him wincing. The unfamiliar person sat on their knees beside him, looking down at him, long blonde fringe falling over their sharp eyes, pony-tail hanging over their shoulder slightly, animal ears of some kind atop their head. They were very small, very thin, and looked very pale against the low-light. Wearing a high-collared shirt, loose fabric wrapped around their waist, their thin fingers were pointed with sharp, painted nails. Strife couldn’t quite tell if they were male or female, but maybe that was the look they were going for.

“You are William Strife, aren’t you, or at least, that’s what you’ve been telling people. You are, Kirin’s little alien pet.” They smiled cheekily, sharp fangs flashing against what little light there was in the room. If it weren’t for the fact that Strife couldn’t quite understand everything they were saying, then he’d probably have something to say about that last accusation.

_And you are?_ He mouthed. Once again hoping that he’d gotten his words right, even if he wasn’t actually speaking.

“Oh, I am many things and have gone by many names over the centuries. But you can call me Lying.” They grinned, showing off their sharp teeth, too sharp, fangs that looked as if they belonged in the mouth of an animal, not a humanoid being. “You’ve been naughty, Strife, Kirin isn’t very happy with you, you shouldn’t have been sneaking alcohol into the house, it’s bad for you, you know.” ‘Lying’ all but cooed, their voice soft again. Strife wasn’t sure how they knew about what had happened, or even how they’d gotten into his room. Were they a friend of Kirin’s? It was certainly possible, but he’d never heard him mention them if that was the case.

“You’re very quiet.” They continued, still smiling. Strife found himself unable to look away from their almost animalistic eyes, primal, blue, but dark, not bright and gleaming sapphires like Xephos’.

He tried to speak, but still couldn’t get any words out. “Actually, no, _shhh_. Don’t speak. Kirin doesn't know I’m here. I don’t want you waking him.” Lying hushed him, pressing their forefinger against his lips, as if he were a child who wouldn’t shut up. Their skin was ice-cold to the touch, and Strife noticed that their voice had dropped somewhat, quieter now, but still sharp. Kirin was asleep, so it was night time, not just dark. How long had he been unconscious? What time was it..? It was winter, so probably not that late.. But even so.. That was a day he’d basically missed..

Lying didn’t want to be seen here, but yet they were speaking aloud with little worry, maybe Kirin couldn’t hear them, something about them screamed ‘power’, ‘strength’, ’ _deception_ ’, maybe he wouldn’t see them even if he was stood right beside them. They seemed the sneaky type. And Strife could feel energy coming from them, faint, but definitely there, twisted, dark, unpleasant.

Lying swung their legs over the edge of the bed and jumped to their feet, not really gaining much in the way of height by standing on the floor. Strife noticed a long busy tail that matched their ears swishing back and forth by their legs. What were they? Humans didn’t have tails or big animal ears.. Pointed ears, yeah, but not animal ears..

“You’re afraid. Aren’t you. Scared of what each new day will bring, because Kirin hasn’t quite been acting like himself lately. I’ve been watching. He’s not been very nice. Has he.” Lying said softly, slowly, watching Strife through the corner of their eye. It was true, Strife was terrified, Kirin was violent and unpredictable and possessed immeasurable power, and Strife was at the receiving end of all of it.. “I’ll admit, it’s probably my fault, I’ve leaped back into his life and he’s not sure how to handle it. Still, you really aren’t coping very well, are you.” Strife understood enough of that to know what was being said, and he wasn’t quite sure how to react to it, what had they done that could possibly change Kirin from being relatively kind, to being down-right cruel.. Strife wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, but it must of been pretty bad.. If he could speak, then he’d ask, or at least, he’d try to, but he still couldn’t get any words out, and it was getting more and more frustrating.

“You know, escaping from Kirin isn’t as hard as he makes it seem.” Lying said, suddenly sounding somewhat distant as they walked over to the window, running their clawed fingers up the glass. They reached up and grabbed the top of the window, pulling it open, cold air rushed into the room, making Strife shiver, yet they didn’t even flinch. “I’m not saying that you _should_ run away. But it’d certainly make things a little more interesting.” They climbed up onto the window sill, holding the sides of the frame and leaning backwards through the open window as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. A sly smile creeped across their face, showing their sharp fangs again. All Strife could do was stare. “Well, you do whatever you want. I better be off. I hope that the next time we meet, we can have a proper conversation. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Strife merely blinked, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to ever meet them again, he didn’t even know who they were, or what they were, or how they got here..

Lying almost seemed to giggle before jumping backwards and vanishing into the night.

Strife stared for a moment before carefully getting to his feet, doing his best to ignore the surge of pain through his chest, he walked up to the window and looked outside. The cold winter air lashing against him and sending shivers down his spine. There was no sign of Lying, not even a flicker of blue light in the shadows. They’d gone, disappeared. Though he couldn’t quite figure out why they were even here in the first place..

He stayed by the window for a while, ignoring the cold, finding that it helped to numb the pain in his chest, though it didn’t really help with what lingered of his headache. _Maybe I could run. He thought, staring out at the dark forest that surrounded the house. Kirin wouldn’t miss me. He’d have no reason to come after me… I don’t need him. He’s just making everything worse.. If he’s not around.. I can stop all this foolishness and get back to work._ He smiled slightly at the thought of having a clear head for a change, even though it was becoming so routine, waking up without something hurting, something aching.. Now that would be nice..

_But, what if he did come after me… What would he do if he caught me…?_ Now that was a question he wasn’t sure he could answer. He couldn’t think about that anyway, it didn’t matter. It would only matter if it actually happened. And he wasn’t going to let it happen. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. But how?

Even if he did run, he wouldn’t be able to get off the property without being seen or caught by something or someone.. And travelling around Minecraftia at night was never a good idea, as he’d found out several times now. He’d have to leave during the day then.. But how would that work? Maybe when Kirin was away, he’d left Strife home alone for long periods of time before, well, usually no more than a few hours, but that was long enough to get out of the house, maybe grab a horse from the stables, and get as far away from this place as possible before Kirin realised that he’d gone missing. He could easily steal money, a few gold coins -he’d done it before- to buy some basic stuff in town. No doubt Kirin had completely cleared his room out of anything even remotely intoxicating, but he could buy more, that wasn’t hard, he knew where to go if he needed it.

Was he really plotting a way to escape? Was he really doing that? The idea had crossed his mind but he’d never thought so far into it before.. Hmm.. Maybe it could work. He’d run now if he could, but he wouldn’t get very far, he knew that, not with all the monsters around and no way of defending himself. He could survive the incoming lecture he’d get in the morning, he knew Kirin was going to give him hell for what he’d done, but he could survive that, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d been lectured. Admittedly, they hadn’t been about what tomorrows would probably be about, but even so, he could get through that, it didn’t matter, he didn’t care.

After a few more minutes, he closed the window, shutting out the winter air, though there was still a nasty chill left in the room. He sat back down on his bed, shivering from where he’d been stood in the cold for so long. There was a glass of water on his bedside table, he reached for it, fingers shaking, he slowly picked it up. He was so thirsty. He took a sip, finding it alarmingly difficult to swallow, but it did help lessen the disgusting taste in his mouth somewhat. He sat there for a few minutes, the glass still in his hand. Thinking. Was this really a good idea?

He’d sleep on it, after all, he was absolutely exhausted. He set the glass back down and laid back on his bed. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep again, not that it was the most peaceful sleep he’d ever had.

Morning came, Kirin was up early, that wasn’t new, he was always up early. Strife woke feeling a bit better than he had done the day before, though he still felt groggy and rough, his throat was sore, his chest too, but breathing wasn’t quite so painful anymore.

He’d stayed in bed for a while after waking, but soon got up, not wanting to be forced out of bed like he had the day before, and just wanting to get what he knew was coming out-of-the-way. He’d wandered downstairs, not bothering to get changed, instead staying in what he’d slept in. He went straight to the kitchen, where he knew Kirin would be waiting.

And he was there. But he wasn’t alone. Not quite. Sitting on the kitchen counter, legs crossed at the knee, speaking to a rather annoyed looking Kirin, was someone who Strife didn’t quite recognise at first. But when they looked at him, and smiled with a cheeky, sharp-toothed grin, it clicked together, it was Lying. That strange little creature who’d shown up in his bedroom last night, was now sat quite casually in Kirin’s kitchen.

Lying’s small size was only emphasised when near Kirin, even whilst sat on the counter they didn’t even come close to being at the demigods eye level. Now Strife could see them in the light, he was even more confused as to whether he should be afraid of them or not, he had hoped he’d never see them again but that clearly wasn’t happening.

There were several things Strife found odd about Lying, the aura they gave off for one, their general appearance for another. Sharp nails painted blood-red, sharp fangs, sharp eyes, lined with pointed eyeliner and surrounded by a tint of red-eye shadow, making the deep blues of their iris’ stand out against their pale skin. Long light blonde hair, tied back in a pony-tail that draped down their back. Their feet were bare, toenails also painted red. There was a dark purple hat propped on the back of one of the chairs, wide-brimmed and pointed, too small to be Kirin’s, so it must have been Lying’s. They had reddy-orange animal ears poking out from their fair hair, and a matching tail hanging off the edge of the counter, what exactly were they? Strife wasn’t sure what animal those features should belong to, he didn’t know much about Minecraftian wildlife just yet, but he still thought they looked odd on a humanoid.

“Hello there, William Strife.” Lying said softly. Turning their attention fully to the alien stood in the doorway. “Nice to finally meet you.” They winked, the cheeky smile on their face growing wider. Strife swallowed hard and just about managed a smile. Not quite sure on how to react to seeing them again.

“Leave him alone, Lying.” Kirin said simply before he too turned his attention to Strife.

“I was merely saying hello.” Lying said quietly, though they were ignored by Kirin.

“You’re up early, William. I wasn’t expecting to see you until later.” Kirin said, looking at Strife, a hint of annoyance in his tone and in his expression, though Strife couldn’t quite figure out if that was aimed at him or because of Lying.

Strife cleared his throat slightly before he spoke, and even then, his voice was hoarse and it hurt a little to talk. But it was better than nothing. “Figured I might as well get this over and done with. You’re going to lecture me, correct? About what I’ve done wrong.”

“Oo, you have a lovely voice, Strife.” Lying cooed, leaning back a little and kicking their feet out slightly, their grin just seemed to keep getting wider, it was rather creepy more than anything else. They were, however, ignored again by Kirin, though Strife did take a moment to raise an eyebrow at them.

“I do want to talk to you yes.” Was all Kirin said in response.

“You’re not angry?” Strife asked, confused.

“I would be.” Lying put in, looking down at their nails rather than at the others.

“Oh, I am absolutely fuming, Strife. Furious. Because I thought you were smarter than that. But it’ll have to wait I’m afraid. I have other things that need dealing with first.” Kirin replied, glancing at Lying as he finished.

“Oh don’t let me stop you.” They smiled, looking up at Kirin but then across at Strife. “After all, a pet must be properly disciplined. I’d love to watch too, sounds exciting.”

“ _Pet?_ I am not his _pet!_ ” Strife spat, if his throat wasn’t so sore he’d of yelled.

Lying giggled. “Oo you understood me that time.” They said quietly, Kirin didn’t seem to hear despite being stood right beside them.

“William, just, go back to your room, take something to eat, if you want it, you didn’t eat anything yesterday so you’re probably hungry. Stay in there until I call for you. Understood?” Kirin said, his voice firm, looking down at Strife with electric blue eyes, lightning dancing behind them.

Strife simply nodded, before turning around and going back to his room. He was confused more than anything. Usually, Kirin wouldn’t hesitate to shout at him. He’d expected to be yelled at the second he stepped into the room. But no, that hadn’t happened. Was Lying more important to Kirin than he was? Maybe. They certainly knew each other, though he wasn’t sure on how or why. He could always ask, but that wasn’t a guaranteed way of getting answers..

Strife was hungry. Very very hungry. It had been a while since he’d eaten anything without just coughing it back up again. But that was partially why he hadn’t been eating, worried that it’d just come back up again. If he really was going to make a run for it, then he’d need to gather some strength, he’d need to travel for a while to create as big a distance between himself and Kirin as possible, travelling on an empty stomach was never desirable. He could steal food and take it with him, there was plenty in the house, Kirin wouldn’t miss a bit of bread and fruit.

Strife laid back down on his bed, and he must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing he knew, he was brought back to reality by Kirin yelling across the house for him.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but he assumed that Lying was gone, he didn’t see or hear them when he walked to the kitchen, so they must have left. That was probably a good thing.

Kirin had greeted him with a rather unhappy expression and, as Strife had expected, a very long talk about how what he’d been doing was bad. That drinking for the sake of it wouldn’t be tolerated, and that the amount of half empty liquor bottles he’d found in his room was truly appalling. Strife was almost glad he’d run out of redstone and not had a chance to get more, he really doubted Kirin would be happy to find drugs as well as alcohol hidden away in his room.

As usual, the talk lasted for quite some time. It was thorough, but nothing was repeated, it almost sounded scripted, rehearsed, though that was normal. Why was being lectured like a misbehaving child becoming so normal for him?

Strife didn’t speak whilst Kirin was talking, well, mostly yelling, at him. He stayed quiet, occasionally nodding to make it look as if he was listening, which he wasn’t, not really, he didn’t care.

What Strife found odd, was that Kirin didn’t ask why he had started smuggling alcohol into the house, he’d expected to be asked that, and to have to come up with some lie in response, as telling the truth would probably just get him in even more trouble. Kirin just left when he was finished, leaving Strife on his own at the kitchen table.

He sat there for a few minutes before going back to his room, taking an apple with him, just in case he felt up to eating anything. He set the apple down on his bedside table and then started rummaging through his draws, looking for something he knew Kirin wouldn’t have a reason to take.

A little book, filled with pages of notes and things he’d seen and done whilst on Minecraftia. All of it was written in Lumian. Neat, slightly blocky symbols that Strife found much nicer to write with than Minecraftian script, though that was mostly because he wasn’t used to writing with the latter. Some of the pages were scattered with little sketches of flowers and trees, something to pass the time, take his mind off how difficult adapting to this planet was, even before he’d been put with Kirin.. He hadn’t had much time to write in it recently though.

He found the book at the bottom of one of drawers, grabbed a pencil off of the table, and sat down on his bed. Flicking through the pages until he found a blank one. He was determined to get away from this place, he wasn’t sure why he’d suddenly become so desperate to leave, but he knew that if he stayed here for too long, he’d end up even worse for wear than he already was. He’d been putting it off for too long, he should stop just thinking about it, and actually plan a way of escaping.

And so, he started writing, jotting things down and thinking of ways to escape. It was going to be hard, but he needed to do this. He was so engrossed in writing things down that he didn’t even notice Kirin poke his head in around mid-afternoon, he left again without a word, probably just thinking that Strife was doodling in his book again. He kept writing for several hours, eventually finding himself sprawled out across the bed, laying on his stomach with the book in front of him, having filled in several pages with ideas and notes and plans. The theory was the easy part though, actually executing the plan.. Well.. That was the hard part..


	3. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter became much longer than I expected it too, but oh well, I’m pretty happy with it. I’d say this ones a bit more exciting than the last one, though things do go very very bad, very very quickly. You have been warned.

The next week passed rather uneventfully. Lying didn’t show up again, or if they did, Strife hadn’t seen them. Kirin seemed more on edge than before, constantly walking into Strife’s room unannounced, as if he was trying to catch Strife doing something he shouldn’t be, which he didn’t. Strife quickly figured out what he was trying to do, so he made sure that none of it would be seen. Hiding his notebook, full of escape ideas and plans that, whilst written in Lumian, would still be perfectly readable to Kirin, under his pillow, out of sight and not somewhere Kirin would likely go looking, and even if he did, the book would seem completely innocent as long as he didn’t start reading it. Strife had managed to acquire some small bottles of alcohol, nothing fancy, not as strong as he’d like, but just enough to calm his nerves and give him the buzz he was looking for. All of it was hidden though, hidden where Kirin wouldn’t find it.

He’d avoided Kirin as much as he could over those few days, which was difficult when they were living in the same house. He was doing this partially because he was afraid of being hit or shocked or yelled at again, but mostly just because he didn’t have any interest in the man, didn’t see the point in putting up with him. That was another reason why he wanted to leave. He was just fed up of everything.

The day Strife planned to take his chances and run hadn’t started as well as he’d hoped though. The plan was simple enough; wait until Kirin had left the house for a few hours, gather all the stuff he’d be taking with him, leave, get as far away as possible, and set up a place of his own somewhere or find Xephos’ friends. He’d already gotten all the stuff he was taking sorted out, he’d stolen a few pieces of bread and some fruit, he’d been given a handful of gold coins to go and get some things in town, which he did, though he’d also brought a couple of small things for himself and kept what change was left over, he’d also found a few stray coins around the house, which he’d taken for himself. He had hidden all of this stuff and more in his room, in a backpack that he’d found and was planning on taking with him, it was small, but that was fine, he didn’t want to take much, just the things he needed.

Kirin wasn’t in a good mood that morning, not in the slightest. He was agitated and kept snapping at nothing. Strife was even more wary of him than usual when he was like this. But not quite wary enough, as one misplaced word resulted in him being pushed against the wall, hit across the face and yelled at for a good five minutes for not really doing anything wrong. This shook him up a bit, Kirin hadn’t touched him since the incident the week before, but it didn’t deter him, he wasn’t backing out now.

Kirin had left at about midday, giving Strife the now routine ’ _Don’t make a mess, don’t cause trouble, don’t get drunk, and if Lying shows up, leave them alone.’_ talk before heading outside and vanishing behind a bolt of lightning. Strife had no idea where he was going or why, but he was gone, and that was good enough for him. He wasn’t quite as confident as he had been a few hours before though, mostly because being shoved up against the wall had hurt his back and he was just generally a little under the weather from not eating as much as he should have been over the past few days.

About twenty minutes after Kirin left, Strife grabbed his bag, made sure he had everything, and headed out the door. He didn’t even glance back, not once. He walked quickly through the garden and off into the forest. Hoping that he wouldn’t leave a trail that Kirin could follow upon coming home.

Strife kept walking for hours, he didn’t stop, stopping would waste time, he kept moving, ignoring the aching in his back and legs and the pain in his feet, he kept on walking, he couldn’t stop, not now.

By the time the sun began to set a few hours later, Strife had been walking for at least five hours, his feet hurt, his legs hurt, his back hurt, everything hurt, he was very, very tired and very, very hungry. Quiet growls were starting to sound from the forest around him, growing louder as it got darker, he needed to find somewhere to spend the night, he needed to find shelter. And fast, all he had in the way of protection was a small dagger, he couldn’t do much with that at the best of times, yet alone when he was in the state he was currently in.

After a while, he managed to find shelter, it wasn’t much, just a small cave in the mountainside. But it would do for the night. It was an absolute relief to sit down and take the weight off his feet, to rest his aching body for a few hours before heading off again. Strife couldn’t quite wipe the smile off his face as he leant back against the wall, he’d escaped.. For now at least.. There was a chance that he’d wake up to find Kirin standing over him, but he didn’t think about that, he focused on where he’d go next. He didn’t have a map, so it was very much a case of _‘just keep moving and don’t look back.’._

Strife opened up his bag and pulled out one of the little liquor bottles he’d brought with him, there wasn’t much left in it, but he could really do with a drink, and didn’t want to get drunk and risk waking up with a horrific hangover. He opened the cap and downed what was left in the bottle. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it tasted good, and even if it wasn’t that strong, it certainly quenched his thirst, for the time being anyway..

Strife laid down, using his bag as a pillow, it wasn’t massively comfy but it would suffice for the night. He still couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. And as he was laying there, he started laughing. He didn’t know why. But he couldn’t stop, curling up slightly on his side as tears rolled down his cheeks, laughing and laughing until the exhaustion finally got the better of him. And he sunk into a deep sleep, quiet snickers still escaping his throat as he drifted off.

Strife woke up again a few hours later, curled up tightly and shivering against the bitter cold. It was still dark outside, the only light coming from the torch he’d propped up on the wall, orange flame casting a dull light across the cave, and a faint green glow coming from his eyes.

He sat up against the wall, feeling stiff from laying on the cold stone, his joints ached too. But he’d slept for a few hours and that was good enough. It was very, very cold, the air was crisp and dry and frost had formed on the ground outside the cave. Strife’s breath came out in little clouds of warm air as he shuddered. He rubbed his hands together and tucked them under his armpits in an attempt to retain some heat. He really wasn’t used to the temperature being so low, and even with his hoodie on, he was absolutely freezing, it didn’t help that his jeans and shoes had holes in them and his shirt was too small either.

Strife sat there for a while, curled up tight but still shaking. What he wouldn’t give to be wrapped up in a blanket or snuggled up in bed or, well, anywhere warmer than here really. But, as uncomfortable and unpleasant as this was, it was necessary. He’d find some proper shelter tomorrow, maybe find some materials and build something simple. But for now, he’d have to make do.

Strife wasn’t sure if he’d fallen asleep properly again, but he’d definitely spent the rest of the night dozing in and out of consciousness. Which, whilst somewhat annoying, was better than no sleep at all. Morning eventually came, bitterly cold, slightly misty, the ground lightly frosted. He waited until the mist had cleared and the winter sun had warmed the air up a little - it was still cold, but nowhere near as cold as it had been at night - before he decided to start walking again.

He stood up, stretched out the kinks in his back, grabbed his bag and his torch, which had gone out in the night, and headed off again. Frost crunching beneath his feet, still shivering, arms crossed against his chest, clouds of warm air coming from his mouth with every breath. It was so very cold, but he needed to keep moving, he couldn’t stay in one place for too long.

Fatigue began to settle in after only a few hours, every step sent sharp pains up his legs, his breathing was laboured, he couldn’t think straight, the only thing that was keeping him moving was the fact that he’d convinced himself he needed to. If it weren’t for that, he’d have listened to all the pains in his limbs and rested for a little while, maybe try to eat something and regain some strength. But he didn’t, he just kept on going, kept on walking.

A few hours later, just as he was starting to give in to the exhaustion, he found himself on the edge of a jungle, hundred foot tall trees towering over the landscape, lush emerald-green, not coated with frost like the neighbouring forest. He surveyed the unfamiliar biome from the outskirts, not sure what to make of it, not sure if entering it would be a good idea. Even right on the edge, the air felt warmer, more humid, and less dry and cold. The foliage was thick, anything could be hiding in the bushes, it looked difficult to navigate, though that could be a good thing, would make it harder to be found by unwanted visitors.

Twenty minutes of wandering through the dense undergrowth lead to the discovery of a lake, quite large, shallow, glistening blue waters shimmering in the winter sun. Strife crouched down at the edge of the lake and dipped his fingers into the cool water, sending shivers down his spine and cleaning dirt from his hands. As he looked up again, he saw something that caught his eye, opposite where he had come out of the trees. A small stone building, run down and clearly quite old, coated in vines and other plants that had made the place their home. Strife wasn’t sure what to make of this, but the sight of shelter was enough to make him approach it.

The old stone building was dark and musty, moss and plants coated the walls, the brickwork was cracked and crumbling in places. There were two sets of stairs, one that went up, and one that went down, they were in about as good a condition as the walls, broken and falling apart. The building seemed to be empty, Strife couldn’t hear anything, it didn’t look like anything or anyone had been here in years, which was good, very good.

And so, Strife spent the next twenty minutes exploring the little building. There wasn’t much there, he found a chest, hidden away behind a load of vines, it was empty though, nothing but cobwebs inside it. There were dispensers in the walls, but they too were empty, someone had been here before him and cleared the place out. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, any traps had been deactivated and so the place was relatively safe. A bit worse for wear perhaps, but still fairly sturdy. It was shelter though, and that’s all that really mattered right now.

Strife sealed up the entrance with a couple of dirt blocks before practically dragging himself up the stairs onto the top floor. He sat down in the corner, leaning back against the wall, exhaustion took him before he had a chance to do anything else, it wasn’t dark outside yet, it was barely gone midday, but that didn’t matter, he just needed to rest.

Strife decided to stay where he was, it was unlikely that he’d find anywhere else and it was quite a distance from Kirin’s house, so the chances of him being found were quite slim, or at least, that’s what he hoped. He spent most of the next few days recovering from the long trek, resting, occasionally bringing himself to eat something, though only little things, eating too in one go much made him feel sick. Once he’d regained a little bit of strength he started to clear the place up a bit, make it a bit more homely, which was difficult, but he tried his best. And whilst he was doing everything he could to distract himself, he couldn’t get rid of the constant fear that Kirin would suddenly appear, angry and capable of doing some serious harm, or even killing him.. The demigod never did show up though, Strife didn’t know if he was still looking for him or whether he just didn’t care, but he was glad that he’d been left alone. Not that it stopped him from worrying about it..

A week passed, and still no sign of Kirin, or anyone, really. Strife was alone in the jungle with very little in the way of supplies. But he was managing. The forest was rich with fruits and berries and wild animals, so food would never be an issue, not that he was eating much at the moment, finding wood to patch up the walls and make tools also wasn’t hard, he was literally surrounded by trees. He finished off what little alcohol he’d brought with him quite quickly, and without any means of getting more, it hadn’t taken long for cravings to set in, though half the time he couldn’t quite tell what they were for. He was still almost constantly tired and aching, there was always something that made him want to stop working for a while, but he usually pushed this all aside, he wasn’t going to waste any more time than he needed to.

One afternoon, just over a week after he’d ran away, there was a knocking at the wooden door, quick, loud taps that broke Strife’s concentration. He looked up from what he’d been writing, and waited a few moments, thinking that maybe he’d imagined it. But then, a few seconds later, more quick knocks came from upstairs. Someone had found him..

He stood up shakily and walked up the stairs and towards the door, peering through the window, half expecting to see Kirin, or some stranger, standing there, but no, he saw the one person that he really, really wanted to see right now.

Strife opened the door and, stood outside, looking slightly concerned but still smiling, was Xephos.

“Hello Will.” The sapphire-eyed alien smiled.

“Xephos..” Strife muttered as a smile crept across his face. Xephos didn’t have a chance to say anything else before Strife jumped forward and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, pulling him close.

“Woah, haha, nice to see you too, friend.” Xephos chuckled as he returned the embrace, though he was slightly alarmed when he realised that he could feel Strife’s spine through his shirt, he shrugged it off though, it was probably nothing.. Probably.. He could hear Strife muttering things in his ear, though he couldn’t understand a word of it, not being able to speak what was technically his own language was proving more and more of an inconvenience the more time he spent with his emerald-eyed friend. “I can’t understand  a word of what you’re saying, Will.” Xephos smiled as Strife pulled away and stood up straight.

“Sorry.” He said, still smiling, his voice quiet after having barely spoken in over a week.

They went inside, Strife grabbed his translators -which he hadn’t bothered wearing recently- so that they could have a proper conversation. They sat down together on Strife’s bed, since it was probably the most comfortable thing in the little stone building, and they starting talking. Strife didn’t care too much about what they spoke about though, he’d missed Xephos so much over the past month, that all he really wanted was to be in the other Lumian’s company, to have him sitting in front of him, to listen to him talk and laugh and tell his usual stories…To look into his gleaming sapphire eyes that reminded him that his own eyes were not shining as brightly as they should be, that he wasn’t in anywhere near as good condition as his friend, who was sitting there, eyes shining, dark hair almost glittering from the blue light, little blue freckles lining his eyes and swirling along his cheeks, full of energy and confidence and just generally happy. Whilst he was sat there, eyes dull, freckles faded, hair too long, unshaven, too thin, constantly tired, constantly hungry but scared to eat too much, continuously on edge thanks to the now constant cravings that wouldn’t go away, and the ever looming fear that Kirin would show up at any minute and hurt him even more.. It was exhausting..

“I’m sorry I was gone so long.” Xephos said simply after about ten minutes of directionless chatter. “I would have been back sooner, but things kept coming up, things kept happening, everything took a lot longer than I thought it would. But oh well, I’m here now. I have to ask though, what exactly are you doing all the way out here? I thought you were staying with Kirin. Well, you were, but when I went to his house earlier he said you’d run away.”

“How exactly did you know where to find me?” Strife asked, purposefully not answering Xephos’ question, and instead asking one that he was genuinely curious about.

“Oh, when I found out that you weren’t where I thought you were, I asked Ridge to help me locate you, he’s pretty good at tracking people down.” Xephos said casually, Strife couldn’t say that he’d met Ridge, but assumed he was just another one of Xephos’ rather large group of friends. He could tell from the way Xephos was looking at him, that he wanted to know why he’d run away though, and he wasn’t sure on how he was supposed to answer that. Should he tell the truth? No.. No Xephos wouldn’t believe him.. He’d have to lie then.. But what could he say?

“I just.. I thought I could try to make my own way for a bit.. I left when he wasn’t around since he’d stop me otherwise.. Thought I’d left a note but guess he didn’t see it..” Strife said slowly, hoping it sounded at least slightly convincing.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Was all Xephos said in response, leaving them both in silence for a while. “You look a little rough around the edges, Will. You ok?” He said, tilting his head slightly. Strife nodded, this was definitely something he’d have to lie about, Xephos would probably be rather angry if he knew that he hadn’t really been treating himself properly as of late.

“Yeah I’m-I’m fine. Just-Just tired. That’s all.” Strife said quietly, smiling slightly. Xephos nodded, and didn’t take the conversation any further. He seemed suspicious though, he didn’t quite seem to believe what Strife was saying, though if this was the case, he didn’t mention it.

The two aliens sat and talked and laughed for about two hours. Strife didn’t say much, he was quite content listening to Xephos talk. He wished that this would last forever.. But he knew it wouldn’t..

“Wow, it’s getting late.” Xephos chuckled as he looked at his watch. “I should probably get going. Are you gonna stay here, Will? 'Cos you can come with me if you want to.” Now that was a good question. Strife did want to go with Xephos, he really did, but at the same time, he preferred working alone, preferred the peace and quiet.. It was lonely though.. And difficult.. But peaceful. And he could do whatever he wanted without needing to worry about what other people might think of him..

“I’ll stay.” He finally said. “I kinda like it here.”

Xephos smiled and nodded. “Sure. Just look after yourself. I’ll see you soon, friend.” He turned to leave, about to head up the stairs when Strife stopped him.

“X-Xephos, wait.” Strife hesitated, suddenly not sure if he wanted his friend to leave just yet. Xephos turned around again, head tilted slightly.

“Yeah?”

“Can you– can you stay just a bit longer. I-I’ve been here on my own a while and it’s–.. It’s nice to have someone to talk to..” Strife stuttered, almost seeming afraid. Xephos smiled softly as he sat back down next to his green-eyed friend.

“Sure, I 'spose I can stay a bit longer. But I can’t stay all night, ok.” Xephos smiled. Strife just smiled back as he leant against his friend, not caring if he seemed a bit childish for wanting to be with him. They both leant back against the wall, and Xephos let Strife rest his blonde head on his shoulder, he didn’t mind, he could see how tired he was.

“..I really missed you..” Strife muttered.

“I missed you too.” Xephos smiled softly, resting his head on top of Strife’s. Something wasn’t quite right, he could feel it..

They stayed like that for a while, silent, neither of them speaking. Xephos stayed for another hour, but he couldn’t stay for as long as he’d like. By the time he did decide to get going though, Strife had fallen asleep against him. Xephos laid him down on the bed and wrapped a blanket around him before leaving, quietly, not wanting to wake him.

Something really wasn’t right with how Strife was acting. There was definitely something wrong with him, but he couldn’t quite place it. He did seem tired, but didn’t seem like the reason for him being the way he was. He’d think about it. Right now, all he could do was head home and hope everything would be ok..

Strife woke late the next morning, he felt remarkably well rested, though a little alarmed to find himself alone again, he didn’t remember Xephos leaving..

That day had gone quite well, he felt better than he had done in ages, he found himself getting a fair amount of work done, progressing nicely for a few hours. He felt good, he felt productive, he felt like maybe things were finally going to get better.

Until he crashed that evening, suddenly feeling like shit again. Everything came back, the exhaustion, the fear, the cravings. All hitting him like a brick wall and making him want to curl up and forget about the world.

Everything just went down hill from there, especially when he gave up fighting and started venturing out and getting his hands on the stuff he needed to soothe the cravings, and dull the aches and pains that still lingered. He’d tried to be responsible at first, only have as much he needed. But it quickly got out of hand. Drink and drugs started mixing, often without him even realising that he was doing it. He spent evenings focused on doing his work, but struggling to get anything done through the lack of co-ordination and jittering hands. Or stumbling around the building in a drunken haze, barely able to stand. The buzz was fantastic at first, mixing certain things together without even thinking twice about it, to give him exactly the kind of high he was looking for. Not caring about how much harm he might actually be doing to himself. When he wasn’t drunk or high on one thing or another, he was on a caffeine buzz, downing mugs of coffee to force him to keep going, to keep working.

But the downward spiral was a long one, and the bottom was no where in sight. More often than not he’d pass out from exhaustion or intoxication, or both, waking up hours later at his desk, or on the floor, barely able to acknowledge that he was, in fact, awake, and not quite aware of where he was, or why he was there.

Days and nights started to blur together, waking up just as the sun poked above the horizon was no longer relevant, it rarely happened, sometimes days were missed all together after particularly bad trips, or when he’d drunk just a bit too much. He barely noticed though.

Xephos kept coming to visit as often as he could, but he never saw the worst of what was going on. Once or twice he’d found that the door was unlocked and he’d let himself in, just to find Strife passed out at his desk, assuming he’d just stayed up late working he’d written a quick note to say he’d stopped by before leaving again.

_'Guess you must have had a busy night, will come see you again soon, friend. - Xeph’_

A few times, Strife heard Xephos knock, but he couldn’t get up out of bed, or from his desk, or where ever he was currently situated, as he knew that standing would make him pass out or vomit, neither were desirable when he was busy. So he just kept quiet, pretended he wasn’t in. Hoped Xephos would come back later. Which he always did.

When he did have the strength to let his friend in and talk to him, he made sure everything was hidden, he didn’t want Xephos getting angry at him, so he pretended that everything was ok, that he’d just been busy, nothing was wrong. _'Everything’s fine..’._

After a while, Strife started missing all of Xephos’ visits, sometimes not by much, but he was never home or awake  when he came over. Notes started appearing tucked into the door frame, all written in the same elegant, neat handwriting, Xephos was getting worried..

_'I’m sure you’re just busy, but please get in touch with me soon, Will. It’s been ages since I last spoke to you. - Xeph’_  
'Maybe my timing’s just really bad, but I am starting to get worried, Will, please can you contact me. - Xeph’  
'Will, please please please can you at least call me, or even just send me a text, please, I’m really rather concerned right now..’  
'Will, this is getting ridiculous! It’s not just me now, everyone’s getting worried, please can you contact someone, anyone! Please, I’m begging you, I don’t want to lose you!’

Something was stopping Strife from contacting him, telling him that he was fine, just busy… He wasn’t sure what it was though.. But the more notes Xephos left, the more he felt like he couldn’t tell him what was happening.. He wasn’t even sure if he could remember why he was the way he was anymore… Everything was just a blur. The only recollection he seemed to find anymore was when he was reading through his notebooks. But even his writing was starting to become more and more indistinguishable..


	4. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is quite a bit shorter than the others, and, assuming everything goes to plan, is the second to last chapter. So there should be one more and maybe an epilouge if I can be bothered to. Which, as I write this, I haven’t written yet, so yeah, there might not be a chapter of this out tomorrow morning, we’ll see :P

“I wish he’d call me, or contact me in some way. Fuck, he could write me a letter and I’d be happy! I just want to know if he’s ok.”

“I’m sure he’s fine Xeph, stop worrying about him. He seems like the kind of guy who just wants to be left alone anyway.”

“I know but.. But even so.. I’m worried, Lal, I’m really worried.” Xephos sighed, burying his head in his hands as he looked away from his blonde friend, who was making them both coffee.

“What happened to ‘it’s fine, don’t worry about it.’?” Lalna chuckled as he set one steaming mug down in front of Xephos.

Xephos rolled his eyes and glared at the scientist as he took the star covered mug in his hands. “Har har very funny, Lalna.” He scowled. “Can you be serious for once please, you may barely know him but I’m really concerned that there’s something wrong and he isn’t telling me about it.” He continued, sounding more and more frantic.

“Calm down Xeph, you aren’t going go get anywhere if you just sit around panicking about it. If you’re so bloody worried then actually do something.” Lalna said sternly as he sat down beside his friend, the cheery tone in his voice completely vanishing.

“I’m trying! I’ve been calling him every day, I’ve been going to his house at every opportunity, but he never picks up, he never answers the door, he never calls back..” Xephos almost yelled, drifting between panic and frustration.

“Maybe you should try talking to Kirin again-” Lalna started, but was cut off before he could finish.

“I’ve tried that too!” Xephos interrupted, he calmed himself down a little before continuing. “But either he doesn’t care about Will or he simply isn’t telling me what he knows. I’m really starting to regret letting Kirin look after him whilst I was at YogLabs, if I’d chosen someone else then this wouldn’t be happening.” He sighed.

“You’ve said that several times now, Xeph.” Lalna said simply. “If you’re that concerned, then it might be worth asking someone else for help, you’re certainly not getting anywhere on your own.”

“Who would I ask? Who would care, barely anyone even knows him!” Xephos asked, starting to sound frantic again.

“I don’t know, Xeph, that’s up to you. I can’t really help you with this one, I’m afraid. But sitting around isn’t getting you anywhere.”

“Yes, I know, you’ve said that before.” Xephos sighed. “I’ll think about it, I’ll come up with something.” He said quietly as he sipped his coffee.

A few more days passed, still no sight nor sound of Strife. Xephos was worried sick, and had been thinking about what to do almost non stop. Thinking about how he was going to find out what was happening and sort it all out. But he kept coming up blank, he just didn’t know what to do in this kind of situation.

It wasn’t until nearly a week after his conversation with Lalna that he finally figured out who might just be able to help him. The same person who’d helped him find where Strife had run off too in the first place.

Ridgedog.

The young demigod was worse than Kirin when it came to unpredictability, he was also much more likely to stab you in the back, respawn you, and then stab you in the back again. As was his way. But Xephos liked to think that they were on good enough terms that he could ask him for a favour. A favour that could possibly save someone’s life.

And, somewhat to Xephos’ surprise. Ridge had agreed to help, though he didn’t exactly say why, and he rarely did anything without a reason. Xephos wasn’t all that bothered though, he had the demigod on his side. Now all he needed was to find out what the hell was going on and put a stop to it.

That, unfortunately, would be the difficult part.

It was early one morning when Xephos and Ridge set off to Strife’s little jungle dwelling. When they entered the clearing, nothing had really seemed out of the ordinary, that was, until a bolt of lightning struck in the middle of the lake, leaving Kirin stood on the water, he saw Xephos and Ridge almost instantly, but ignored them, instead he started walking towards the stone building, quickly, broad strides clearing ground, well, water, very fast.

Ridge vanished from Xephos’ side in a flash of gold, not hesitating to take on someone who was probably stronger than him and definitely more accustomed to fighting other deities, though Xephos was rather hoping that they didn’t start fighting. Ridge stopped Kirin in his tracks, eyes flickering with gold light.

Xephos watched them closely as he made his way around the lake towards the stone building on the other side of the clearing, he could see that they were talking, but couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. He wanted to know why Kirin was here, he hadn’t seemed to care about Strife before, so what was he doing?

Xephos turned away from the demigods and walked quickly towards the house, he would have broken into a run if something hadn’t stopped him. It wasn’t someone grabbing him, more something wrapping itself around his arm and stopping him going any further. He tried pulling himself free but to no avail. He heard Ridge shout, and whatever was holding him let go, making him stumble forward slightly.

He figured it must have been Kirin trying to stop him, which just confused him even more. When he turned around again, the antlered demigod was much closer to him than he had been before, though still out over the water. Ridge was behind Kirin, floating several inches off the ground, one arm wrapped around his neck, the other holding a blade to his throat. Kirin stood firm, not moving, electricity crackling around his hands. Not much could hurt a demigod, but the fact that Kirin wasn’t fighting back probably meant that whatever Ridge was holding could do some damage if he wanted it to.

“You can’t kill me.” Kirin said confidently, looking back at Ridge slightly. “Even a blade like that won’t kill me.”

“I’m not killing you, I’m restraining you. So stay still and don’t fight back, because I will not hesitate to kick your arse if you do!” Ridge growled.

“I’d like to see you try.” Kirin said casually, Xephos didn’t give Ridge a chance to reply though.

“Kirin. I want to know what happened between you and Will whilst he was with you.” Xephos said firmly, meeting Kirin’s three eyed gaze. “Because I’m pretty damn certain that all of this has something to do with you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kirin said innocently, smiling. “I didn’t make William run away, he chose to. All I’m doing here is,” He paused, almost as if he was thinking about to say. “paying him a visit.”

“I wish I could believe that. I trusted you to look after him! If I’d have known this would happen, that I’d completely lose contact with him, then I’d have never, _never_ let him stay with you!” Xephos half-shouted, his voice growing louder the more he spoke.

Xephos continued to yell at Kirin for a few minutes. He was furious with himself for letting this happen, but also angry at Kirin for not helping him figure out what was happening and for hiding something from him.. He didn’t know what that something was, but he knew that there was something else that he wasn’t being told. Kirin mostly stayed quiet, letting Xephos rant and yell at him.

What none of them realised was exactly what was happening inside the building that they’d all been heading too. They didn’t know how bad a condition Strife was in. Something he’d taken hadn’t quite reacted as he thought it would, and now he was curled up on the stone floor, shaking, chest burning, head pounding, vision blurred, barely aware of where he was or what was going on, completely terrified. Amongst all this though, he was vaguely aware of the voices coming from outside, he could hear them, he could hear someone yelling, and he recognised the loudest voice, but his drugged and drunken mind couldn’t place it, couldn’t put a name to it, they had a name, what was their name?!

“ _Xepho-ooss_!!” Came a loud, broken yell from inside, immediately grabbing Xephos’ attention, and distracting him from what he’d been saying. He took one last look at Kirin and Ridge before running up to the door, he tried to open it, but found that it was locked.

“Shit..” He muttered, though before he had a chance to say anything else, there was a flicker of gold around the door handle, and he heard the lock click. He turned his head again to see that Ridge had pushed Kirin down into the water, the blue-eyed demigod was laying in six inches of water, looking bored more than anything else. Ridge was floating just above his chest, arms crossed, gold light in his eyes as he looked at Xephos.

“Go and make sure he’s ok, call for me if you need me.” Ridge said simply. Xephos nodded quickly before dashing inside.

Xephos knew that something very bad was going on from the moment he’d stepped through the front door, scattered all over the place were empty bottles, some were broken, some still had something in them. There were books and pieces of paper, other random materials and tools and bits of tech everywhere. The smell of stale alcohol was in the air, and it made Xephos’ stomach turn. What the _hell_ had been going on here?! Where had all this come from?!

“Will?” Xephos called, as he walked towards the stairs, not sure if he’d get a response.

“Xephos…?” Came a quiet, fearful voice from downstairs, Xephos only just heard it, but he knew exactly who it was, and he quickly walked downstairs, being careful not to trip on any stray bottles as he went.

At the bottom of the stairs was a table, this too was littered with bottles and other things. Xephos noticed a patch of red powder, he was concerned as to what that might be.

He quickly walked around the corner, and that’s when he saw Strife, curled up on the floor, by the bed, green eyes looking at him but not focusing, blinking rapidly, shaking, breathing raggedly, shirtless, bare foot, only wearing a loose pair of trousers, which were torn at the knee and looked to be to big for him. Xephos felt his heart skip a beat as panic washed over him, little red dots started to appear around his eyes and he could see the glow of his eyes fluctuate.

“Fuck.” He cursed as he dashed over to his friend, dropping to his knees and trying to get a good look at him. He did his best to sound calm, even though he was anything but relaxed. “Hey, Will, Will, look at me, hey, ’s ok, what happened?” He said as softly as he could manage, fingers fumbling looking for Strife’s pulse on his neck, finding his friend’s heart to be beating way, way too fast. He gently took Strife’s trembling hands and the blonde uncurled slightly, feet sliding on the stone floor. Now Xephos was closer, he saw something that he hadn’t noticed before, Strife’s eyes had changed colour. What should have been the whites were almost black, his iris’ were a dull, dark green, mixed with a much paler shade and a glint of red, nothing like the gleaming emeralds they’d been when they met, his pupils were tiny, and barely any light was being emitted. He’d never seen this happen before, not even to himself when he’d gone through rough times, something was very, very wrong here, even worse than he thought. “Will, Will look at me, you’re going to be ok, everything’s going to be ok.” Xephos said softly, his voice starting to shake. He really didn’t know what to do.

“I-I’m sca-rred.” Strife choked, barely audible, squeezing Xephos’ hands tightly.

“I know, but you’re gonna be ok.” Xephos said quickly before turning his head slightly towards the stairs. “Ridge!” He shouted, hoping the demigod would hear him from down here.

“It h-hu-urts!” Strife cried, tears forming in his eyes, kicking his legs out slightly against the stone floor.

A few moments later, Ridge arrived, swooping down the stairs, gold light dancing in his eyes as he approached.

“What the actual fuck has he been taking?!” Ridge said, sounding somewhat shocked.

“I don’t know just, please, please tell me you can help him!” Xephos almost begged, no longer capable of stopping his fear and panic from showing in his voice. Ridge knelt down opposite him, looking at Strife, gold light still flickering in his eyes. Strife didn’t seem to like the unfamiliar presence beside him, and he tried to edge away from the copper-haired demigod, but with little success, his feet merely sliding on the cold stone.

“Hey, ’s ok, friend, ’s ok.” Xephos tried his best to sound reassuring and confident but he really didn’t think it was working.

“I can help him.” Ridge sad simply. “But,” He paused as he looked back at Xephos. “it won’t be easy and.. And it’ll hurt him. A lot.”

Xephos looked at Ridge for a moment before looking down at Strife, who was watching his blue-eyed friend closely.

“Just, help him, please.” Xephos said, his voice suddenly dropping to a much lower level. “I-I can’t lose him.” His voice cracked as he met Ridge’s golden gaze. The demigod nodded before looking back down at Strife, who was now switching his limited focus from Xephos to Ridge and back again every few seconds.

“I’m sorry, Strife.” Ridge said plainly as gold light start to swirl around his fingers, he gently placed his hand on Strife’s bare chest, the golden magic flickering across his skin. “But this isn’t going to be very pleasant for either of us.”

Gold light flared in his eyes and the magic around his hand seemed to spread into Strife, at first, nothing seemed to happen, but after only a few seconds Strife started squirming, tightening his grip on Xephos hands. Broken cries came from his throat, he started fidgeting, as if he were trying to get away, though Xephos was doing his best to hold him still.

Xephos wasn’t sure why Ridge had seemed cautious. Not until Strife started screaming anyway.

Xephos wanted to cover his ears and move away, block out the noise, but he knew that he couldn’t, he sat there, holding Strife’s hands as the blondes grip grew even tighter, untrimmed nails digging into his dark skin. Ridge was focusing on his magic but even he looked pained, whether that was due to casting the spell or because of what it was doing Xephos wasn’t sure. But it was all awful regardless.

The cries stopped for a moment when Strife ran out of air, though only briefly, gasping to fill his lungs again before the screams restarted, arching his back and kicking his feet out as it seemed to get worse.

Xephos just wanted it to stop, just wanted it to be over, he couldn’t take much more of this, everything seemed to have slowed down, almost as if time had stopped moving. _Why does saving people always have to be so hard?_


	5. Road to Recovery

It seemed to go on for hours, hours and hours of the same, shrill, blood curdling scream. Though in reality it didn't even last a minute.

The gold light around Ridge's hand slowly shifted into a pale green colour, though his eyes retained their fierce golden glow. He slowly moved his hand away from Strife's chest and the light started to swirl around his palm. The screams stopped very abruptly, and Strife laid motionless for a moment, staring up at the ceiling, before inhaling sharply and coughing a little. All the tension in his body vanished as he settled, though he was till holding tightly onto Xephos' hands. He laid there, eyes closed, breathing heavily, shaking and shivering,

Ridge leant back and let out a breath, the strange green light still flickering around his fingers, the gold light in his eyes faded slightly, though there were still hints of it behind their usual dark grey colour.

Xephos just managed to free one of his hands from Strife's grasp, running his thumb along Strife's cheek bone, where his freckles should have been, the little lights appeared for a moment at the touch before fading again. He opened his eyes slightly, looking up at Xephos. The whites were white again, though his iris' were still mixed with green and red and he wasn't focusing properly. Xephos just managed a small smile as he met his friends gaze. He didn't even notice Ridge stand up and leave the room.

"Hey, 's ok, Will. You're ok. You're ok." Xephos said softly, his voice level again now the worst of the panic had faded.

"I--I--I'm sorry.." Strife muttered.

"'s ok." Xephos smiled. "'s ok." He paused for a moment, taking deep breaths to try and steady his still pounding heart. "It doesn't matter, you're ok, and that's all I care about right now."

Xephos carefully helped Strife sit upright, still holding his hand and making sure he was aware of where he was, and what was going on, he seemed somewhat dazed, confused, and tired, but otherwise ok, or if nothing else, a hell of a lot better than he had been a few minutes ago. Xephos was wondering what exactly Ridge had done, and where he'd gone, but didn't think too much about it, he was focused on his green-eyed friend, who was sitting in front of him, leaning against the bed, knees pulled up against his chest, and only just fully conscious. He was alive and awake though, and that's what mattered. Xephos kept talking to him, his voice soft and calm, though he did really want to know what had caused this to happen, he decided that now would not be a good time to ask.

After about five minutes, Ridge came back, a blanket in his hand. He crouched down beside Xephos and Strife, giving the blanket to the sapphire-eyed alien.

"Put this around him, should stop him from getting too cold, he's already shivering." Ridge said simply, Xephos didn't speak, he merely wrapped the blanket around Strife's shoulders, covering him up and hopefully keeping him warm.

"What exactly did you do?" Xephos asked quietly, looking at Ridge, his eyes were now back to their normal dark grey colour, not even a flicker of gold remained.

Ridge sighed. "I took all the nasty stuff out of him, that's why he's calmer now, there's nothing in his system that's making him panic. He'll take a while to recover from this, he's not in good shape at all." Ridge said, his voice calm, but with a rather serious undertone.

Xephos nodded. "Yeah I.. I can tell.." He said quietly, looking away from Ridge and back at Strife, who was still watching him with tired eyes.

"I'm sorry.." Strife sniffed.

"'s ok, you don't need to be sorry." Xephos said plainly, looking down at the floor for a moment before looking back at Ridge. "Where's Kirin? Is he still outside?"

"Yeah, he is, although I don't think he's going to be a threat to any of us right now, I made sure of that. Come on, we should get Strife out of here, it's really not very pleasant." Ridge said, looking around the room slightly as he finished.

"Yeah, yeah we should." Xephos nodded. "You're gonna have to carry him though, I doubt he can walk right now and I won't be able to carry him."

"Well, if he's anything like you, Xeph, then he probably weighs about as much as a feather. So carrying him won't be an issue." Ridge smiled slightly as he stood up, Xephos scowled at him. He stepped closer to Strife, leaning down slightly as he spoke again. "Come on, let's get you out of here then, hm." He said, Strife merely looked at him warily for a moment, before looking back at Xephos, who smiled.

"Yeah, come on, can't stay here all day. We'll take you back to my place, and then me and Dew and maybe Lal, if he's around, can keep an eye on you and look after you. Ok?" Xephos smiled. Strife stared at him for a moment, before nodding slightly.

Ridge carried Strife outside, and Xephos followed behind. His mind was still racing, he had so many questions, most of which were along the lines of  _'How the hell did this happen?!'_ , but for the time being, he had to focus on making sure Strife was ok.

What Xephos hadn't expected to see when he left the building was Kirin sitting on the floor by the lake, head in his hands, shaking. Someone that Xephos didn't recognise was standing beside him.

"When you said that you'd made sure Kirin wouldn't be a threat to us, what exactly did you mean?" Xephos asked Ridge, looking up at the demigod as he pulled his gaze away from Kirin.

"I put all the nasty stuff I took out of Strife into Kirin. What happened obviously has something to do with him. Maybe he'll learn if he knows what he put the poor guy through." Ridge said flatly, not looking at Xephos as he spoke.

"Bit harsh, but I'm not complaining." Was all Xephos said in response. He looked back at Kirin, to find the person stood next to him was staring at him, sharp blue eyes glaring from behind long blonde hair. Xephos tilted his head slightly, he certainly hadn't seen them before, what were they doing here?

"Who is that?" He asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like the look of them." Ridge said. "Come on, we shouldn't stay here." He added as gold light flared in his eyes again. Xephos knew that he was right, they couldn't really stay here with Strife in the condition he was in. But he was very, very tempted to rush over to Kirin and start yelling at him again, try to get some answers out of him, since he still had very little idea on what had actually happened. He just about managed to restrain himself though, whoever the fox-eared blonde was, they did not look like the kind of person worth approaching if you valued your life, so he stuck close to Ridge, waiting for him to teleport them home.

Lying watched as the trio vanished behind a flash of gold light, giggling slightly as they looked at Kirin, who was still sat by their feet.

"You've really messed up this time haven't you, Dave." They said, smiling slyly. "I mean, Xephos isn't going to let this go. And I don't think Ridgedog is either."

"How exactly do you know everyone's name?" Kirin muttered, starting to relax as what Ridge had done began to wear off. "Or, anything about the people I know, for that matter."

"I have my ways." They said before crouching down, meeting Kirin's gaze and smirking. "Feeling ok?" Kirin merely groaned as Lying snickered at him.

Ridge and Xephos made sure Strife was comfortable when they got home, laying him down on a bed and wrapping him up warm. Xephos stayed with him until he fell asleep, neither of them spoke, Strife was just happy to be with Xephos and Xephos was just happy to know that Strife was safe.

Ridge talked to Xephos about _exactly_  what it was he'd done to Strife; removing all the intoxicants from his blood to calm him down and save him from any further harm, as well as making mental notes of what it was that was in his system. Xephos was shocked and utterly confused as to how it had gotten so bad, how he'd ended up doing all of that. He'd have to ask, but not now, later, when he was feeling a bit better.

Strife slept for quite a while, not waking until early the next morning, when he started wonder unsteadily around the building, a blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. He found Xephos dozing on the sofa. It was still dark outside, no sign of the sun. Xephos had never bothered to go to bed, too worried to sleep properly, he'd stayed downstairs. He'd been rather surprised to hear someone come into the room, and this surprise only grew when he noticed that it was Strife, not Honeydew.

"Hey, you all right Will?" Xephos asked softly, sitting upright as Strife walked over and perched on the sofa next to him.

Strife nodded. "I'm sorry.." He muttered.

Xephos tilted his head slightly. "You don't need to keep saying sorry." He said. "You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"But I--I--"

"I'm not angry at you Will, all right. It doesn't matter, or at least, it doesn't matter at the moment. When you're feeling better, you can tell me anything you want to about what happened, ok, but for the time being, you need to rest, and recover. Honeydew and I and, and anyone else who wants to help, will be right by your side throughout this, ok. We'll help you get back on your feet and then, then you can stay here, or you can go off and make your own way in this weird and wonderful world. It's up to you. But right now, rest is what you need. Ok?" Xephos smiled, his voice quiet and tired, but still gentle and reassuring. Strife just managed a small smile and he nodded again.

"Thank you." He whispered, little green lights starting to flicker into life beneath his eyes, which were glowling a littler brighter than before.

"Come on, let's get you back upstairs, you shouldn't be down here anyway." Xephos said, still smiling. Strife nodded once more before the two aliens headed back upstairs.

Recovery wasn't going to be easy. It would be slow, difficult, nearing painful at times. But Strife had his friends there to help him...  _Friendship_.. That was a concept he wasn't quite used too.. But, he was starting to rather enjoy it.

Xephos did eventually manage to have a talk with Kirin about what happened, and for once he wasn't even remotely intimidated by the Storm Sage. Admittedly, having Lying floating in the corner of the room, watching closely with sharp eyes and a sly smile had been somewhat unnerving, especially since he still had very little idea as to who they were. But he wasn't wary of the demigod, or if nothing else, he'd managed to block out that fear whilst he stood there demanding an explanation. Which he eventually got and, needless to say, was not best pleased about. Regardless, it gave him an opportunity to finally vent his frustration on someone who deserved it. And it felt  _good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, last chapter if I don’t write an epilogue, which I might, we’ll see. I tried my best to wrap this up nicely, but even though I knew what I wanted to do, this took a really long time to write, so yeah, I apologise if it’s a really naff ending, I hope you enjoyed this bizarre little story though :)
> 
> I'll mark this as finished, but if I do write an epilogue, it'll be added onto this, so yeah, just a heads up in casr that does happen :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


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